Injured Bradford to enter draft

Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford will have season-ending shoulder surgery and expects to enter the NFL draft in April.

The Oklahoma quarterback injured his right, throwing shoulder twice this season, most recently against Texas on Oct. 10.

The school announced yesterday that Dr. James Andrews will perform the operation Wednesday in Birmingham, Ala. Bradford is expected to address reporters following the Sooners' practice tonight in Norman, Okla.

"I dreamed about coming to Oklahoma my whole life," Bradford said yesterday in a statement. "That's the reason I came back for this season. And I came back to play, not sit on the bench. That's the reason I tried to play after the injury. I'm very disappointed that it didn't work out differently.

"Under these circumstances, and after talking to several people, this is the right thing for me to do at this point."

Bradford passed up the chance to be a first-round NFL draft pick this year - he was projected as high as No. 1 overall - to play another season with the Sooners.

According to his statement, Bradford expects his recovery time to be 4 to 6 months. As of Sunday, the April 22 draft was about 6 months away.

"I'll be up to the challenge," Bradford said in the statement.

* Florida regained the top spot in the Associated Press poll from Alabama, which was ranked No. 1 for a week ahead of the Gators.

The Crimson Tide needed a blocked field goal on the last play to beat Tennessee, 12-10, on Saturday, while Florida pulled away from Mississippi State in the fourth quarter for a 29-19 victory. The Gators received 30 first-place votes to Alabama's 23.

No. 3 Texas got seven first-place votes after its 41-7 victory at Missouri.

Like Texas, No. 4 Southern California, No. 5 Cincinnati, No. 6 Boise State and No. 7 Iowa held their places in the latest media rankings.

TCU jumped two spots to No. 8 after a 38-7 victory at Mountain West Conference rival BYU.

LSU stayed at No. 9 and Oregon moved up two spots to No. 10.

No. 11 Georgia Tech starts the second 10, followed by Penn State and Oklahoma State. Virginia Tech is 14th and Houston is 15th.

* Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen called for disciplinary action against the Southeastern Conference replay official who worked the Bulldogs' 29-19 loss to Florida after a Gators touchdown that might have been a fumble was not overturned.

Mullen said it's understandable if a field official makes a mistake because of the speed of the game, but the replay official can take his time and should be held accountable.